Dr. Bruce Tobin’s S. 56 Application

Dr. Bruce Tobin PhD

Dr. Tobin is an esteemed professor at the University of Victoria and a psychotherapist who has been in private practice for the last 30 years. His current research focuses on using psilocybin within the context of psychotherapy to treat serious end-of-life emotional distress (anxiety and depression) suffered by cancer patients as a result of their disease and diagnosis.

We are in the process of assisting Dr. Tobin with his legal application to access psilocybin. Psilocybin has shown to be surprisingly effective in treating end-of-life anxiety and depression. In a recent study at the John Hopkins School of Medicine, 80% of a sample of 51 cancer patients reported significantly decreased anxiety and depression along with increases in quality of life after a single psilocybin-aided psychotherapy session. Shockingly, the results continued six months after the single session. Similar findings have been seen in studies conducted at New York University and the University of California. This does not just improve the lives of those suffering with late-stage cancer, but it also enhances communication with family members and friends which is also critical.

Dr. Tobin will be applying protocols developed at UCLA, John Hopkins School of Medicine and New York University for research with Psilocybin. These protocols have been found to be safe and effective.

The test to be exempted from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act under s. 56 requires that the treatment be necessary for a medical purpose. There is no doubt that we meet that test. But, to ensure nothing is left to chance, we are pleased to have secured the assistance of three prominent experts in this field: Dr. William Richards from the John Hopkins School of Medicine, Dr. Anthony Bossis from the New York University School of Medicine, and Dr. Charles Grob of the UCLA Medical Center.